1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of manufacturing a restructured meat element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Already known from the prior art, in particular from WO 2007/085773, which is equivalent to U. S. Publication No. 2009/0220660 and to U.S. Pat. No. 8,475,861, is a facility for manufacturing a restructured meat element, of the type comprising:                means for forming fragments of meat, and        a moving support for the fragments of meat designed to convey these fragments of meat in a longitudinal direction, through means for cohesively tamping the fragments of meat to form a block of tamped fragments of meat.        
It is generally desired that a piece of restructured meat retain, as far as possible, with respect to mastication of the latter by a consumer, properties similar to those of a piece of non-destructured meat.
This is obtained in particular by preserving—as well as possible—the structure of the lipocytes and myofibrils of the meat, whose diameter is generally less than 50 micrometers.
The means for forming fragments of meat proposed in WO 2007/085773 make it possible to preserve, relatively satisfactorily, the structure of the lipocytes and of the myofibrils, by forming fragments of meat such that each fragment is in the general shape of a sheet having a surface area between 5 and 10 cm2 and a thickness between 3 and 9 tenths of a mm.
The means for cohesively tamping the fragments of meat proposed in WO 2007/085773 comprise two conveyor belts for cohesively tamping the fragments of meat. The two tamping belts are arranged one above the other such that the lower belt extends substantially horizontally and the upper belt is inclined with respect to the lower belt. The two tamping conveyor belts converge from upstream to downstream with respect to the direction of motion of the fragments of meat between these belts so as to cohesively tamp the fragments of meat.
The means for forming fragments of meat proposed in WO 2007/085773, which is equivalent to U. S. Publication No. 2009/0220660 and to U.S. Pat. No. 8,475,861, make it possible to preserve, relatively satisfactorily, the structure of the lipocytes and of the myofibrils, by forming fragments of meat such that each fragment is in the general shape of a sheet having a surface area between 5 and 10 cm2 and a thickness between 3 and 9 tenths of a mm.
The means for cohesively tamping the fragments of meat proposed in WO 2007/085773, which is equivalent to U. S. Publication No. 2009/0220660 and to U.S. Pat. No. 8,475,861, comprise two conveyor belts for cohesively tamping the fragments of meat. The two tamping belts are arranged one above the other such that the lower belt extends substantially horizontally and the upper belt is inclined with respect to the lower belt. The two tamping conveyor belts converge from upstream to downstream with respect to the direction of motion of the fragments of meat between these belts so as to cohesively tamp the fragments of meat.
The means for cohesively tamping the fragments of meat proposed in WO 2007/085773, which is equivalent to U. S. Publication No. 2009/0220660 and to U.S. Pat. No. 8,475,861, are generally effective. However, there is a desire to further optimize their effectiveness.